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Scandal Season 3 Report Card: Grade It!

It was an interesting season, to say the least. Scandal Season 3 saw the introduction of Olivia's parents, the revelation of Mellie's rape, and the coming unhinged of Quinn Perkins.

There was sex. There were lies. There was (probably) videotape. Let's take a minute to grade Scandal Season 3 and look back at some of the best and worst moments from the season.

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BEST COUPLE: None of the couples on Scandal are what we'd call "best." In fact, most of them are downright dysfunctional. But one couple stands above the rest as being a solid, mostly respecting pairing: Abby and David. Sure, they've been dishonest with each other from time to time, but they typically come clean and they're better off for it. Plus, having them together gets more Josh Malina on our screens and makes Abby slightly less neurotic.

WORST COUPLE: All of the rest of them? Seriously. The couples on Scandal are notoriously unhealthy, manipulative, and sometimes really hard to watch. Mellie and Fitz. Fitz and Olivia. Olivia and Jake. Cyrus and James (R.I.P.!) Not to mention whatever's going down with Huck and Quinn. Would it be so hard to write a healthy relationship for a change? Just for a few episodes? If this is art imitating life then we're all completely doomed.

The End.

BEST CHARACTER: By a mile, this award goes to Huck. He's broken and loyal, and he isn't afraid to call Olivia on her crap. (Neither is Jake, but he's not winning this one.) Of all the characters on Scandal, we know the most about him, and maybe that's why we like him so much. He's the best-developed and is the character who, time and time again, we root for him to get back up and find his happy. Whether or not he's found that with Quinn, or whether he'll try to work things out with his family remains to be seen. Eagerly remains, that is.

WORST CHARACTER​: With so many bad guys to choose from, how can we pick just one? Oh, right, Rowan Pope manipulated the President and then killed a teenager to get what he wanted: his job back. YIKES! Maya Pope might have sold arms to terrorists, but she didn't order a hit on a kid!! One thing's for sure, though, Joe Morton deserves all kinds of awards for his portrayal of the probably evil Rowan on Scandal season 3.

BEST EPISODE: This honor goes to the Cyrus-James retrospective episode, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (Scandal season 3 episode 14). We said goodbye to James Novak and processed that loss in time with Cyrus Beene who threw himself into his work in the wake of his husband's murder.

We saw the early days of their relationship back to a time when Cyrus Beene was just beginning to become a political monster and before he sold his soul to a Devil named Defiance. Olivia also learned of Jake's culpability in her friend's death and vowed to take down B613 for fear that Jake would turn into Rowan Pope. At the end, we watched as Jake, feeling remorse over what he'd done, sat with James while he took his final breaths. And then we cried our eyes out.

WORST EPISODE: The early part of Scandal season 3 was very slow. VERY. It dealt heavily with the aftermath of Mellie outing Olivia as Fitz' mistress and led to a cover-up which should have prevented OPA from working on the Grant re-election campaign. Enter Josie Marcus, a politician from the midwest with a secret and a good chance of winning a spot on her party's ticket. She showed up on Scandal Season 3 Episode 4, the lowest-viewed episode of the season's first 6 outings. The Marcus story, however, was short-lived and wrapped up in a matter of three installments.

HOPES FOR SCANDAL SEASON 4: We'd like to see a return to some of the case-of-the-week scandals that made the early season so interesting, before this became all about whether or not we'd hear Fitz and Olivia's music begin to play. It'd be a change of pace to see Olivia Pope BE Olivia Pope again.

In Columbus Short's exit, there's a hole to fill at OPA. Who else to fill it but Stephen (Henry Ian Cusack)! We'd love to see him return as Olivia's right hand man. He would also make an intriguing side to an Abby-David-Stephen love triangle. Or we'd love to see Mekhi Pfifer come to town as a brother or cousin of Harrison's, initially there for a funeral but smelling a rat and sticking around to solve the case of his relative's death, if Harrison's exit is by death, that is.

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Apollo003•June 24, 2014 05:07

I admit that I still greatly enjoyed this season as there were a lot of stand out moments, but it was also my least favorite season to date. I, like many other people, don't like the fact that they have gotten away from the case of the week style setup that they used to have. My main complaint with this season was that for my own personal taste, there was too much of a focus on Fitz and Olivia. It just seemed like every episode was partially comprised of the exhausting back and forth between the two. They are on again off again more than a high school couple, and it didn't take long before it started to get irksome. Hopefully season 4 doesn't focus as much on their relationship, and instead gets back to what made the first two season so great.

Comment modified at July 28, 2014 20:20

Liam•June 09, 2014 09:21

This show went from a good drama to a mediocre guilty pleasure this year. I remember Shonda saying she didn't want people to call it a guilty pleasure - but after this year, that is impossible. Very bad writing this year, and a lot of over-acting.

Imo this show has gone from an A to a D. Was in my top 5 and now I watch it off the dvr only when I have seen all my other shows

Comment modified at July 28, 2014 20:20

evelyn•June 07, 2014 07:44

Season 4? Stephen can come back or they can bring in Lance Gross who initially auditioned for the part of Harrison. He was on Crisis but Crisis has been cancelled. I would like to see Jake go back to his job at the Pentagon, what happened to that? He rocked that uniform.I would love to see the cases again and less Fitz and Olivia, lets see Fitz try to win back his wife.

Comment modified at July 28, 2014 20:20

C+Roach•June 07, 2014 03:41

Agree with going back to cases. I liked strong smart Calculating Olivia. I have had enough of depressed, alcoholicky, down-trodden Olivia. I understand why they took her there but if all that is going to happen is more unravelling this will cease to be my favourite show.

I am not a toy that you can play with when you're bored or lonely or horny. I am not the girl the guy gets at the end of the movie. I am not a fantasy. If you want me, earn me! Until then, we are done.

Olivia: I don't want normal, and easy, and simple. I want..Edison: What? What do you want, Olivia?Olivia: I want painful, difficult, devastating, life-changing, extraordinary love. Don't you want that, too?Edison: Love is not supposed to be painful or devastating. Love isn't supposed to hurt, Liv.